Best of Cruel Intentions
by Demented Vampiric Zombie
Summary: The night the Longbottoms were tortured was a horribly sad night. This is my version of what happened. Written before DH. Inspired by Red Stars by The Birthday Massacre. No one dies, it's tragedy because they ended up "worse than dead." VERY SAD!


**Disclaimer: If I was the actual author of Harry Potter, I would NOT be putting my stories on any website with the word fan in the name...**

**A/N: I originally wrote this over a year ago, before Deathly Hallows came out. This exact story was NOT written before Deathly Hallows came out, though, because it was part of a much longer story that will not ever be posted because it is a piece of crap. Also, I had to completely re-write this because the flash drive that I had this saved on has been missing for about nine months, and the laptop that I had written it on got a virus and died. The only part of this story that is part of the original story that I wrote is the part from '"It's okay, baby,"' to '"I told you already!"' because I wrote them in P. E. class near the beginning 07-08 school year, so I had to write it in my notebook, then add it to the typed version.**

**Also, because it was written before DH, there is a mention of non-canon stuff that I didn't want to change because it made more sense the way it was. I got the idea for the whole Regulus thing from a theory on HPANA that was posted in 06, and if you want to read it, you can find it by doing a web search of "a staggeringly long Neville theory." But if you do decide to read that, it took me three nights to read the whole thing, and I read DH faster than the book on cd...it really is very long.**

**Another thing, this was only inspired by the first verse and chorus of "Red Stars" and I took it very literally to get the idea. Only the re-written version was inspired by the song, mostly it just inspired me to re-write it.**

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"I said, TELL ME!" Bellatrix shouted. "Or do you want a taste of Cruciatus?"

"It won't get you anything, I've already told you," Frank Longbottom stated coolly, "as far as I know, your filthy master is dead. I can't tell you otherwise."

"_Crucio!_" Barty shouted, his wand pointing at the man who was bound on the floor.

Frank screamed and fell flat on his back as pain seared his body.

"And he's just learned how to cast Cruciatus," Bellatrix said to the man on the floor.

"I figured as much," Frank spat defiantly, managing to push himself up into a sitting position, despite the ropes restraining him. "I've felt enough Cruciatus to be able to distinguish the difference between a well- and a poorly-cast one."

"So, we have a tough one," Rabastan hissed. "If Barty can't break you, maybe I can."

He raised his wand, but before he could utter the curse, he felt a hand pulling down his arm.

"Your curses are barely stronger than Barty's," Bellatrix said, a hungry glint in her eye. "Let me do it."

"We don't want him insane before he can answer us, Bella," Rodolphus chimed in.

"I'll go easy," she pouted. "And if he does break, there's always his wife."

For the first time, Frank reacted.

"No, not Alice," he said pleadingly.

"Then tell us what you know," Bellatrix grinned.

"We don't know anything," he said, the defiance in his voice was replaced with desperation. "If we did, I would tell you!"

"I know just as well as you do that that's a lie, Regulus told me as much, before I killed him," Bellatrix said.

"Who?" Frank asked desperately.

"We don't have time to play along with your little games, Longbottom," Rodolphus whispered malevolently. "Now tell us where the Dark Lord is or we go get your wife."

"Please don't," he begged. "I'm telling you, we know nothing!"

A few seconds later, Barty and Rabastan came back, dragging a struggling and detained Alice Longbottom.

"GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF ME, BASTARDS!" she was shouting.

"Don't make them angrier, Sweetie, they aren't afraid to use Unforgivables," Frank said, keeping his eyes on the sadist in front of him.

"But we don't know anything!" she shouted still struggling.

"They refuse to believe it," he said grimly.

"STOP TALKING TO EACH OTHER!" Barty shouted, dropping her a few yards from her husband.

"_Crucio!_" Bellatrix said, so quietly that it was almost a whisper.

Alice shrieked and her back arched against the ground in pain.

"ALICE!" Frank yelled, trying to reach her without much success.

"Now, let's try this again, where is the Dark Lord?"

"I don't know!" she implored.

"Tell us, or your husband gets four, full strength curses!"

"There's nothing to tell!" she cried, her eyes filling with tears.

"_CRUCIO!_" screamed Barty, Rabastan, Rodolphus, and Bellatrix in unison.

Frank writhed on the floor in agony as Alice struggled and managed to free herself from the ropes and ran over to grab his hand.

"FRANK!" she sobbed, grasping his hand tightly, knowing that he couldn't feel her through the pain.

It was barely two seconds before his screaming stopped and he lay, motionless, staring into space.

"He's useless," Rodolphus sighed. "Your turn, Alice," he hissed dangerously, turning his wand to the weeping woman without even bothering to re-tie the ropes around her wrists and ankles.

"No, Rodo, I have a better idea," Bellatrix said maliciously. "Alice, where is your son?"

"Not, Neville," she moaned. "Do what you want to me, just don't hurt him!"

"Where is he?"

"I won't tell you!"

"Tell me, now, or it'll be worse for him when get to him!"

"BITCH, I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU!" Alice yelled, hoping do direct Bellatrix's rage away from Neville and onto herself.

"You were never very good at Occlumency, Alice," Bellatrix whispered, before saying commandingly, "He's in the closet, Barty. Under an invisibility cloak. Get him."

A moment later, Barty came back holding a smiling fifteen-month-old child.

"If I'm so bad at Occlumency, why can't you use Legilimency to confirm the fact that _I don't know anything_?!" Alice asked desperately.

"Because hurting you is so much more fun," Bellatrix smiled then turned around to face the others. "Put him down on the floor, Barty." She turned to face Alice once again. "Now tell me or watch your son suffer!"

"Please, don't hurt Neville!" Alice begged. "Don't you see I don't know anything?"

"Barty, make it last," Bellatrix ordered.

"_Crucio!_" Barty hissed.

A scream that was very different from any noise a child should ever make erupted from Neville's mouth as his mother ran over and picked him up, tears flowing down her face even harder.

"It's okay, baby, everything's okay," she cooed to her son, turning her back on the Death Eaters so that the struggling child was shielded by her own body.

"Everything is not okay, and you know it," Bellatrix said. "Tell us where the Dark Lord is, and we'll leave. It's as simple as that."

"Take the curse off him and I'll tell you!"

Barty immediately lifted the curse, Neville stopped screaming, but continued crying and struggling like any baby would.

"I told you already, I don't know anything!" Alice said quietly, quickly getting down onto the floor and curling into a ball around her son so their curses couldn't reach him.

"_Crucio!_" Bellatrix shouted, but Alice stayed put. She screamed, but she managed not to move and create a weakness in the protection she was giving her son.

"_Crucio!_" Rodolphus joined in, but though her pain doubled, she still didn't move.

"_Crucio!_" Rabastan added. The pain increased yet again, but she still didn't shift.

"_Crucio!_" Barty repeated.

Alice still didn't move, but it was only because that had been her position when she stopped screaming as sanity left her brain forever.

All four of them removed their curses, realizing that there wasn't anything else they could get from her. With disappointed looks on their faces, they left the Longbottom's home and went back into hiding.

And that was how they were found the next morning, when their friends came to see why they hadn't showed up for work. Frank tied on the floor, and Alice curled around a shrieking child.

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**A/N**

**I told you it was sad! I'm sorry about the incredibly long long author's note at the beginning, I just had to say it all.**

**Please review and tell me if it's as crappy as I think it is or not!**


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